I have a PA 12 bought in July that I've had out exactly once and when I returned it had 2-3 gallons of water in the hull. Outting was about 5 hours.Water comes in the rudder stowline into the rudder access and the travels down the rudder control lines and drips into the hull. I find this quite disconcerting, a kayak/boat that costs this much and gets water in the hull, my other kayaks do not do this and certainly not new.I am wondering if this is isolated to me, or if others with thw PA 12 have the same issue.At this point I am frustrated and very ready to give up on hobie, as I've gone back to the dealer and have been told that this is a design flaw and that all PA12s are this way.I have pics but I do not have a photobucket or such account and am not interested in getting one.

JD,Sorry to hear about your troubles. This is NOT a design flaw! Hang in there and Hobie will be sure to have your back, unlike the dealership through which you purchased your PA. If this were a design flaw there would be many more posts like yours.

I'm willing to bet that you can email photos to someone who can authorize warranty coverage. Give it some time and there WILL be a response to the issue you find yourself having to deal with.

Don't give up just yet and soon you will receive some POSITIVE feed back. The PA's are too nice not to enjoy the way they were intended to be.

Again, sorry for your troubles... give it a chance and you won't regret it!

I am new to this site 6-8 weeks and I have read a lot of forums, and one thing I have noticed is when someone has a problem with their Hobie Kayak, Hobie has always stood behind their product. I do not think you should worry. It will get resolved. I purchased a PA 14 a couple weeks ago and have been in the water for a couple hours at a time (weather) and no signs of water.

I suggest that uno mas comment be ignored. looks like he is tring to get a nice product for cheap. I hope he is joking around. I have seen a lot of posts from uno mas on hobie forum and he does not talk negitive about the hobie products.

_________________"The craft is a foot bigger at port and shrinks a foot at sea."

Okay, I was sent some photos. This is the same system used on the 14. The water is not coming up the rudder line and then down through the control lines. For 2 or 3 gallons to wick up a 1/8th inch line would take a long, long time. This isn't where your water is coming from.

Go back to square one for a moment. Take the boat outside and use a flashlight to closely inspect the hull for visible cracks or pinholes. If you find nothing, pour a few gallons of water inside the hull and then watch the underside of the hull to see if you can spot any drops on the outside of the hull. I'm betting you're going to find a spot where drops are evident and from there you can begin working on the problem, or having Hobie work with you on a solution. But rest assured, the water isn't coming up the rudder line.

Okay, I was sent some photos. This is the same system used on the 14. The water is not coming up the rudder line and then down through the control lines. For 2 or 3 gallons to wick up a 1/8th inch line would take a long, long time. This isn't where your water is coming from.

Go back to square one for a moment. Take the boat outside and use a flashlight to closely inspect the hull for visible cracks or pinholes. If you find nothing, pour a few gallons of water inside the hull and then watch the underside of the hull to see if you can spot any drops on the outside of the hull. I'm betting you're going to find a spot where drops are evident and from there you can begin working on the problem, or having Hobie work with you on a solution. But rest assured, the water isn't coming up the rudder line.

I have filled the hull with water while it was sitting on a trailer, and observed for 3 hours and not a single drop. Hull emptied and dried out with towels and left to completely air dry for a day, and at the time the temp here would evaporate water very quickly, closed all the hatches and ran water over all hatches, even used a nozzle and no water in the hull.I took this to the dealer and he repeated everything I did, it was he that said the water is coming up through there and HE had a video showing it coming down the lines and dripping in the hull.Now, he wass going to "get with Hobie and get a fix." Like I said, I've been waiting. LOL

If you really want to know where the leaks are and you can't find the leak using Tom's method, try this. Button everything up like you're going fishing. Open one of the hatches. Cut a piece of cardboard that fits the open hatch fairly well. Cut a hole in the center of the cardboard that fits tightly around the end of your shop vac hose. Seal the cardboard to the hatch opening and the shop vac hose with duct tape. Attach the hose to the OUTLET of your shop vac so that it will put a little pressure in the kayak. Coat the kayak liberally with soapy water and turn the shop vac on. Wherever there is a leak you should see soap bubbles. You may need to look at the top and the bottom to figure out where the leaks are.

Wicking water up the control line? Not likely and certainly not with volume. Maybe with cotton, but again... that much volume? Odd. Maybe a squirt of something like Scotch Guard to make it (more) water proof and not allow any water absorption? The control line entry points don't typically see a lot of water over them... It would take total immersion over a period of time to get that much water through.

I'll ask our tech team to have a look at your post as well as engineering.